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Sports

Posey, Rodney selected as Comeback Players of the Year

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

New York, NY – San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Fernando Rodney are the recipients of the 2012 Comeback Player of the Year awards.

Posey played just 45 games in 2011 because of a gruesome injury. He suffered a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his left ankle in a home-plate collision with the Marlins' Scott Cousins on May 25.

The 25-year-old backstop returned with a stellar 2012 campaign that included a batting title and his first All-Star Game selection. He hit .336 with a career-best 24 home runs and 103 runs batted in, adding career highs of 39 doubles, 78 runs scored, a .408 on-base percentage and a .549 slugging percentage.

Posey, the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, appeared in 148 games this season, including 29 starts at first base and three as the designated hitter, and helped the Giants to their second NL West title in three years.

Rodney made his first season as Tampa Bay's closer a memorable one after a 2011 season with the Angels that included a record of 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 39 games.

The right-hander was 2-2 with 48 saves and an earned run average of 0.60 in a career-high 76 appearances this season. He permitted just 43 hits and five earned runs with 15 walks and a career-best 76 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings.

Rodney's 48 saves set a Rays record, eclipsing Rafael Soriano's mark of 45 in 2010, and he set a big league mark for lowest ERA by a relief pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched, breaking the previous record of 0.61 set by Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley with Oakland in 1990.

The 30 club beat reporters from MLB.com selected the winners.

Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and St. Louis' Lance Berkman were honored last year.

Rodney was also named the MLB's Delivery Man of the Year, an award that recognizes the most outstanding relief pitcher of the regular season as voted on by a panel from Major League Baseball.

An All-Star for the first time in his 10-year career, the 35-year-old Rodney led the majors with a 96.0 save percentage by converting 48-of-50 chances and ranked fourth in the AL with a .167 opponents' batting average.